This invention relates to a placing stand device for an original which can change the scanning direction according to the ratio of the horizontal and vertical lengths of a picture which is recorded on a microfilm.
A copying machine for aperture cards is available which is used to enlarge and copy a picture which is recorded in the microfilm of the aperture card. In the copying machine, as shown in FIG. 1, an aperture card 5 is positioned on a placing stand 1 by using a plurality of stoppers 2 through 4 which are set on the stand 1, and then the stand 1 is moved in the direction of the arrow so as to subject the microfilm 6 to slit exposure in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement, so that a latent image corresponding to the picture 6A is formed on a photo-sensitive material (not shown). In one copying machine of this type, which uses a sheet roll as a recording sheet, a length L with respect to the width W of the sheet roll 7 is selected according to the ratio of the lengths of the sides of a rectangular frame which corresponds to the contours of the area in which the picture 6A is recorded, as shown in FIG. 2. The sheet roll 7 is cut to the length L thus selected, to obtain a piece of recording sheet. The picture 6A is enlarged and copied as an image 8 on the piece of recording sheet thus obtained.
When it is necessary to provide two kinds of copies of different magnification factors, the above-described copying machine using the sheet roll must employ a method in which two different sheet rolls, whose widths are respectively equal to the lengths of first sides of the copies, are selectively used, or a method in which, as shown in FIG. 3, a sheet roll 9 suitable for the larger size copy is prepared and a part of the region selected for the larger size copy is used to form a copied image 11 smaller in size. However, these methods are disadvantageous in that the copying operation is complicated because the sheet roll must be exchanged, and in forming a copy of smaller size, the sheet must be manually cut to desired dimensions so as to remove the blank regions. These difficulties may be eliminated by the provision of a device which allows the copying machine to selectively use two different sheet rolls incorporated therein, to thereby eliminate the work of the operator in exchanging the sheet roll. However, the provision of such a device causes additional drawbacks in that, for instance, the copying machine becomes bulky.